Summer travel provides plenty of opportunities to eat foods on a stick and go down water slides. And while these things are awesome, you could manage to squeeze in a little history, right? Make it exciting by visiting these 12 historic landmarks located across Wisconsin.
- Little White Schoolhouse
RoyalBroil/Wikimedia The national Republican party was formed in 1856. Ideas for this party started right here in this little white schoolhouse in Ripon.
- Milton House
RoyalBroil/Wikimedia Milton House was a stop for slaves in the Underground Railroad. You can tour the house via a guided tour.
- Ringling Brothers Circus Winter Headquarters
Freekee/Wikimedia The Ringling Brothers were founded in 1884. These original winter quarter buildings still stand from that time period, along with all sorts of other history from the circus.
- Van Hise Rock
Jonathunder/Wikimedia Outside of Rock Springs, on Wisconsin Highway 136, is the Van Hise Rock. Van Hise was a geologist who studied this rock extensively, and was able to write the first literature on the principle of metamorphism.
- Silver Mound Archeological District
RoyalBroil/Wikimedia This sandstone hill was once the place where all sorts of tools were manufactured by Native Americans. They quarried quartzite for stone tools, some of which have been found as far away as Kentucky.
- Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm
USFWS Mountain Prairie/Flickr Famous naturalist Aldo Leopold and his family stayed at this shack along the Wisconsin River. It proved to be an inspiration for his work, “A Sand County Almanac.”
- Astor Fur Warehouse
Jonathunder/Wikimedia This historic fur warehouse is located in Prairie du Chien. To our knowledge, this is the only fur trading warehouse in the Upper Mississippi that has survived.
- Aztalan
James Steakley/Wikimedia You can still witness the creations of this Mississippian community in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. These massive earthwork mounds were completed between the 10th and 13th centuries, for religious and political purposes.
- Greendale Historic District
Freekee/Wikimedia During the Great Depression, three “greenbelt” towns were commissioned by the federal government. This was part of the New Deal authored by FDR.
- Milwaukee City Hall
Richie Diesterheft/Flickr At the time it was completed (1895), it was the tallest habitable building in the U.S. It was built in the Flemish Renaissance Style.
- Pabst Theater
Douglas Green/Wikimedia The Pabst Theater holds roughly 100 events every year. This is significant because it is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States. It has been in operation since 1895.
- Schoonmaker Reef
Freekee/Wikimedia This fossilized reef located in Wauwatosa is 425 million years old. At that point in time, much of North America was covered in shallow, tropical seas.
Have you been to any of these landmarks?
RoyalBroil/Wikimedia
The national Republican party was formed in 1856. Ideas for this party started right here in this little white schoolhouse in Ripon.
Milton House was a stop for slaves in the Underground Railroad. You can tour the house via a guided tour.
Freekee/Wikimedia
The Ringling Brothers were founded in 1884. These original winter quarter buildings still stand from that time period, along with all sorts of other history from the circus.
Jonathunder/Wikimedia
Outside of Rock Springs, on Wisconsin Highway 136, is the Van Hise Rock. Van Hise was a geologist who studied this rock extensively, and was able to write the first literature on the principle of metamorphism.
This sandstone hill was once the place where all sorts of tools were manufactured by Native Americans. They quarried quartzite for stone tools, some of which have been found as far away as Kentucky.
USFWS Mountain Prairie/Flickr
Famous naturalist Aldo Leopold and his family stayed at this shack along the Wisconsin River. It proved to be an inspiration for his work, “A Sand County Almanac.”
This historic fur warehouse is located in Prairie du Chien. To our knowledge, this is the only fur trading warehouse in the Upper Mississippi that has survived.
James Steakley/Wikimedia
You can still witness the creations of this Mississippian community in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. These massive earthwork mounds were completed between the 10th and 13th centuries, for religious and political purposes.
During the Great Depression, three “greenbelt” towns were commissioned by the federal government. This was part of the New Deal authored by FDR.
Richie Diesterheft/Flickr
At the time it was completed (1895), it was the tallest habitable building in the U.S. It was built in the Flemish Renaissance Style.
Douglas Green/Wikimedia
The Pabst Theater holds roughly 100 events every year. This is significant because it is the fourth-oldest continuously operating theater in the United States. It has been in operation since 1895.
This fossilized reef located in Wauwatosa is 425 million years old. At that point in time, much of North America was covered in shallow, tropical seas.
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